Congratulations to Class 32 on their Graduation

Foundation board members, program graduates and friends of the network joined the families of Class 32 in celebrating their completion of the two-year leadership program at a banquet May 6, 2011, in Bellingham.

The evening's events were highlighted by class graduation speaker, Adrian Miller, who shared humorous and poignant stories of Class 32's experiences in the Leadership Program. His presentation allowed the audience a glimpse into the depth of learning that occurred over the last eighteen months.

As part of the graduation, special awards were presented. They included:

The Graduating Class includes the following individuals:

if you are an alumni of the Ag Forestry Leadership Program, you have experienced international travel and agricultural exchange first hand. For most participants, the experience abroad has a value that lasts a lifetime. Perhaps you still talk about your experiences abroad with friends, family and colleagues. If so, there is a program here in the U.S. that allows you to continue your participation in international exchange through your professional place of work. You can host a qualified international exchange visitor from anywhere in the world to work within your business or organization for up to 18 months.

Experience International, a small, non-profit exchange program based in Everson, Washington, sponsors agriculture and natural resource professionals from around the globe to work with farmers, businesses, nonprofits and government agencies in the Pacific Northwest. These exchange visitors come with the right background and motivation to work and learn alongside their U.S. counterparts on farms, nurseries, wineries, forest enterprises, and more, for a period of up to 18 months. They are part of a work-based training and internship program established by the U.S. State Department in 1961. Many local Ag Forestry Leadership graduates have participated.

Paul Troutman (Class 26), owner of Cascade Cuts Nursery in Bellingham, WA, has sponsored three exchange visitors over the years. In 2008, Experience International matched him up with Stefan Marki, a young horticulturist from Switzerland with a passion for growing ornamental flowers. Stefan had attended a formal apprenticeship program in horticulture with Blumen Reiter in St. Gallen, Switzerland and had completed an internship with the botanical garden at the University of Zurich prior to coming to the U.S. Stefan worked full-time at Cascade Cuts and shared a house with Paul and his wife Alison. "He was like the son I never had," says Troutman, "He was a really hard worker and a nice person." Stefan got along well with all of the staff at the nursery, contributed his horticultural skills and knowledge to the business, and went along with many of them on weekend hiking excursions or trips to Vancouver, BC "He even mowed the lawn and did dishes," Troutman touts, adding that anyone thinking of hosting an international trainee should jump in with both feet. "It broadens your perspective and really adds to your life."

Freihe Farms in Moses Lake, Washington, has also hosted several international trainees over the years. Current Ag Forestry Leadership program participant Travis Meacham worked with exchange visitor Gerard Hanson from the Netherlands on a daily basis during the summer of 2010. Twenty-two year old Hanson was an upbeat, highly energetic, talented young crop farmer with lots of ideas and experience to share. "He brought a perspective that you don't necessarily get talking to people who grew up around here," says Meacham. "There was a meaningful exchange of ideas." Hanson's background included cropping similar to that done by Friehe Farm, but on a smaller scale, and he shared the differences in techniques and approaches to farming used in his own country. Meacham highly recommends the program and Freihe Farms will be participating with an exchange visitor from Germany in the coming season.

Tom Thornton (Class 9) served on the Board of Directors of Experience International from 1994 to 2001. He says, "If you've ever thought of hosting an international exchange visitor, this is the organization to work with. They're professional, experienced, and really care about the matches they make between host and intern." Tom and his wife Cheryl (Class 18) are the owners of Cloud Mountain Farm nursery in Everson, Washington.

Anyone with a business related to agriculture or natural resource management can participate. Interns come for as short as the 3 month harvest season at local wineries, to the full annual crop cycle on a farm, to 18 months of GIS, forestry, or other natural resource management program. Hosts in the Northwest have included golf courses, agricultural research centers, dairies, the U.S. Forest Service, and much, much more.

For More information on the Experience International J-1 Exchange Program in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management can be found online at www.Expint.org or by calling the office at (360) 966-3876. 

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By: Jennifer Molesworth

As part of their Fellowship experience, Class 32 focused on Forestry, agriculture and water. The class finished their first year with the Forestry seminar in Castle Rock Washington near Mount Saint Helens. The seminar was coordinated by Ellie Lathrop of Weyerhaeuser and Washington Department of Natural Resources provided the room for the seminar as well as transportation for the field trip. Ellie Lathrop and Mike Mosman took the class an excellent field trip to the nearby Weyerhaeuser Saint Helens Tree Farm where we watched logging in action. Feller bunchers, forwarders, and log trucks all synchronized to turn standing timber into logs heading for the mill - very impressive. From the logging show we went to the log export yard in Long View where logs are sorted and decked for loading on ships destined for Japan and China. The class learned about the complexity of the regulatory processes for forest management from forester Joe Murray and then experienced the complexities of planning a timber sale in a group exercise led by foresters from DNR and Weyerhaeuser. Cindy Mitchell from Washington Forest Protection Association gave a talk on public perceptions of forestry and presented an excellent example of how to communicate complex resource management issues with the public.

The second year of the Class 32 experience included the Agriculture seminar in Pasco. The Agriculture seminar was coordinated by Mark Grassel, Class 16. The seminar was dedicated to Bud Mercer, Class 10, for his outstanding agricultural leadership in the Columbia basin, Washington State and beyond.

Perry Beale from the Washington State Department of Agriculture gave an overview of Washington Agriculture using a GIS based satellite view of agriculture in Washington. The view from space of agriculture and forestry in our state is a vibrant and diverse quilt of shapes and textures. Class 32 learned about the Geology of the Columbia Basin from DNR geologist Jack Powel. Jack described the glacial lake Missoula Floods and how they created the landscape that creates the soil and allows for water storage for diverse and successful agriculture in the Columbia Basin. Issues surrounding agricultural pesticides were presented by WSU professor Allan Feslot. Immigration Attorney Tom Roach discussed agricultural labor and immigration issues. Northwest Farm Credit Services and Mercer Estates hosted the leadership reception at the Mercer Tasting Room where there was an excellent showing and good conversation with past alumni.

The agriculture field trip included a visit to Douglas Fruit Company where fresh Honey Crisp apples were being processed. After the tour of the packing facility class members were given a freshly washed and buffed Honey Crisp to crunch into - very tasty. A tractor and flatbed trailer provided transport for the class for a tour of Schreiber and Sons Farm where Alan Schreiber grows organic and conventional fruit and vegetables for "CSA food boxes and the farmers market. The tour then went to Jeb Whitbys orchard and hay operation where Golden delicious harvest was under way. Jeb talked about his hay operation and how the Pasco area is ideal for growing the highest quality hay for export to Japan. Steve DeRuter of 5D farms showed us his state of the art dairy where a few thousand contented cows live and provide milk. The farms radio tower controlled irrigation system was really amazing. Next stop was Freeze Pack onion processing plant where onions are chopped and flash frozen for ingredients for food manufacturers and restaurants -the facility was so well run and fascinating that it brought many class members to tears. Last stop of the tour was the vine to wine stop at Goose Ridge Vineyards and Winery. The class sampled fresh grapes right off the vine the vineyard and then sipped the finished wine in the tasting room. The agriculture seminar finished up with presentations on Hanford, and the Columbia Basin project, which provides the water that makes agriculture possible in eastern Washington.

The Columbia River Seminar was held in Vancouver Washington and was coordinated by Stu Trefry (Class 13) from the Washington State Conservation Commission and Kathy Peters (Class 14) of West Sound Watersheds Council . Stu and Kathy put together an excellent seminar that demonstrated the importance of the Columbia River to the culture and economy of the Pacific Northwest. Paul Lumley, Executive Director of the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission and Class 31 alumni Aja DeCoteau spoke to the class about The Columbia River Basin, the culture of abundant salmon" and salmon recovery efforts of the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez Perce Tribes. After learning about the importance of the Columbia and salmon we turned to the Columbia River as a transportation corridor from port to port and out to the sea. The class toured the Port of Vancouver to understand how commodities like wheat, hay, scrap metal are shipped out and Subaru's and wind turbines are imported into the Columbia River ports. The Columbia Land Trust hosted the reception where Glenn Lamb presented the idea of land trust and working with private landowners to protect important areas of the Columbia River. Ken Corum, senior economist for the Northwest power planning Council and Dave Warren from the Washington PUD Association described the complexity of managing the power grid on the Columbia River, the issues surrounding the northwest energy system and the impacts of climate change policy. The class visited Bonneville Dam and felt the power of the river running through the turbines and watched salmon navigate the fish ladder upstream towards their spawning grounds. The Columbia River Seminar truly demonstrated that the Columbia River is an amazing natural resource and also a hard working river.

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 AgForestry's Sixth Annual Benefit Gala

October 29th will be a magical evening for all those who love natural resources and support leadership. The Sixth Annual AgForestry 'Celebrating Our Connections' Gala will be held at the Three Rivers Trade and Convention Center in Kennewick.

The theme for this year's gala is "From Washington's Farms to the World's Tables". We honor the farmer, Washington's diverse agricultural products, and the new technology and science behind the industry.

The Three Rivers Center will be transformed to reflect our theme and you and your guests will enjoy the Washington foods and wine that will be served. The dishes will be inspired by Washington Agriculture and will be Washington grown products. The venue will be stunning, with a very different look and feel than in the past - you don't want to miss this experience! Finally, we are busy collecting a fine array of live and silent auction items. Our goal is to make this event a spectacular celebration of natural resources in the state of Washington and a showcase for products grown and produced on our farms and in our fields, forests, and near shore environments. We also honor an individual who best demonstrates the ideals of our AgForestry Leadership program. It is always a special moment during the evening.

If you are interested in joining our esteemed sponsors, please call Shari at 509-926-9113 or go on to our website www.agforestry.org and sign up. You can purchase individual tickets or sponsor a table!

Please consider donating an auction item as well.

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Visiting with women of different ages and backgrounds provided a window into the culture. Morocco is a Muslim country. Many older women wear a hajib (headscarf) although it is not required. Many younger women choose to wear one as a fashion statement and an expression of their culture. It was the middle-aged women who told us they fought for the right not to have to cover their heads and do not wear scarves. Mohammed VI, who became King of Morocco in 1999, played a significant role in creating a new family code, which granted more rights to women.  

The Center for Women in Democracy is a non-profit organization based in Seattle. It focuses on promoting women's full representation and participation in political, economic and social activities worldwide. The Center offers training and other resources both locally and internationally to empower women. Activities include a spring celebration at the Governor's mansion in Olympia, the Food for Thought lecture series in Seattle that showcases issues on women and democracy,

Women's Leadership training in Seattle and International Delegations that travel to countries where women are emerging in civic life.

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